In the midst of the TriSystem EDGE Challenge life brings us even more challenges in dealing with terrorism and senseless tragedy.  In the middle of danger and adversity, stories of  life and limbs lost at the Boston race remind us of how some things just don’t make sense.  In to my life enters an aspiring young runner, studying to be an NASN Primary Sports Nutritionist and personal trainer.  Pictured here is Melissa with her racing tag for this year’s Boston Marathon.

“Officially excited” is what she captioned this picture.  There is so much training and preparation that  goes into a race like this that the expectation to do well and the celebration at the end adds to the excitement of traveling and finally getting there.  Melissa was no exception.  She prepared diligently and was hoping for her personal best.  Under 4 hours was satisfactory but under 3:45 was her hope. 

A race this size has several start times to accommodate the large number of participants and Melissa started 20 minutes later than her scheduled start time due to a back up.  Start times are ranked by previous race statistics with the fastest runners going first.  Melissa’s times put her not too far back in the pack but, she still started 20 minutes later than her scheduled start. 

When I learned that the bombs detonated around 4:15  to 4:20 into the race, it immediately made me worry about my student who had been pursuing her NASN Primary Sports Nutrition License.   Melissa had told me during her sessions about the race and we discussed the benefit of  using TriSystem EDGE to improve her performance.  With the news of the bombing,  I realized I had a young sports nutrition student with TriSystem EDGE right in the middle of it.  Trying to reach her made me fear the worst when her mobile phone went straight to voice mail as if it was not on or damaged.  There was no connection even when I tried the evening after the race.  

Tuesday morning, I got some news…

I saw there was some activity on her Facebook page and I got a text.  Here mobile phone had been made inoperable by law enforcement to prevent anyone from using their mobile phone to detonate another bomb.  From there, she went to the airport and just didn’t have a good mobile connection until Tuesday.  So what happened???

This Text says it all:

Melissa expected to cross the finish line at exactly the time the bombs went off and her family was waiting to see her there.  Instead, she did better than expected with a 3:41 time and got her medal and family away from the finish line,  just in time to be far enough away, but close enough to see the whole thing happen.  What an incredible story.  “Thank God for a 3:41” run time and I hope that TriSystem EDGE helped her get it.  She thinks it did.  She felt great during the run and that pace saved her life and the lives of her family.

This whole story put’s things in perspective.  The unknown is out there and evil rears it’s ugly head when we least expect it.  How can we be ready for things like this?  What kind of person would even consider doing something like bombing the Boston Marathon?  I can only answer the first question.  The answer is to do our best.  The answer is to maintain our resolve to do good.   Attitude, mindset and mood will govern whether we live life as a gift and hold it precious or live like life is a burden that can only be ripped from us.

Which way will you live? You need to decide.  I’ve chosen to live my life with optimism.  Find the positive in your situation.  It’s always there if you look for it.  That is why I’ve created TriSystem EDGE.  It’s a natural botanical supplement designed to do just that…

FIND YOUR EDGE  and keep it.

EDGE helps with the physiology behind staying in a good mood, maintaining a healthy metabolism an recovering from stresses like the Boston Bombing.  Let’s take it even one step further.  We need to feed our minds and spirits as well with daily encouragement and tools to live an optimistic, productive life.  That’s why when something like this happens, it’s good to have a support system to fall back on.

The first thing I do, most mornings, is devote my first minutes of the day to understanding my purpose and how I can be better.  Join me if you like.  At times it gets personal and, of course I share my beliefs and perspective.  Sometimes someone else’s perspective helps you confirm your own beliefs.  You can find my devotional summary here:  https://www.facebook.com/jeff.kotterman. My personal Facebook page.  “Friend me” and it will show up on your Facebook timeline and hopefully motivate and encourage your friends as well.  We all could us some motivation these days, couldn’t we?  FIND YOUR EDGE and keep the Faith!

Jeff Kotterman